Kirit Pathak, who emerged as 100 per cent owner of the business in October last year following a court battle with his two sisters, has appointed Rothschild bank to "review strategic options for the future development of the business."
Pathak, who runs the company with his wife Meena, the group recipe director and a cookery writer, is looking for either an equity partner or buyer, so that the business has the distribution network and the marketing muscle to compete with the likes of Sharwoods, Premier Foods' Indian food brand.
They believe that Indian food could grow globally in the way similar to Chinese or Italian food.
The 54-year-old Pathak said, "The growth of Patak's over the past decade has been a remarkable success story. Our goal is to be the world's leading supplier of authentic Indian food and we have exciting plans for the future development of the business.
"We have, therefore, felt it appropriate to retain Rothschild to assist us in reviewing how best to achieve these ambitions," he added.
Patak's makes Indian cooking sauces, curry pastes, chutney, pickles, ready meals, snacks and breads in the UK and it uses distributors to sell in more than 40
countries worldwide, from Australia to Canada.
As well as selling through major retailers, it also manufactures own-brand products for supermarkets, including Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Morrisons.
Patak's employs some 650 staff, just over half at its factory near Wigan.
The business was started in 1957 by Kirit Pathak's father, Laxmishanker, shortly after arriving in England from Kenya with just 5 pounds in his pocket -- he dropped the 'h' from the company name to make it easier to pronounce.
Spotting the need for Indian food in London, he started producing samosas in a tiny kitchen in north London. Kirit began making deliveries aged just six and joined the business full-time when he was 17.
Last year, Patak's had a turnover of 66 million pounds and it is forecast to achieve 71 million pounds in 2007.
Meena Pathak, 50, is credited with being the driving force behind the business.
The court case, which had threatened to tear the business apart, was brought by Kirit's sisters Chit ralekha Mehta and Anila Shastri, who claimed that their shares in the company were unfairly taken away from them by a "wicked" mother in 1989 and given to a brother they branded a 'liar'.
The dispute was settled out of court for a reported eight million pounds.
